Can someone who have recently done, comment about road condition from Thirtahally to Agumbe and all the way to Udupi? I heard that Agumbe ghat is in pretty bad shape. My car (Honda City automatic) has very poor GC. I am concernd.

Thirthahalli to Agumbe... Beginning 4km is not in good shape. After that is good all the way up to Agumbe. Watch out for speed breakers near KSRTC bus stand before turning right towards Udupi.

Agumbe ghats: Cemented section has pretty bad surface, but dollable @ 20km speed. Considering section of road with limited space vs turn you should be going slow. Thar section of road (I think last 7 turns) are bad in turn. But one can make turn as long as take care about other side give a way little (Because you may need to go for big turns, almost encroaching their lane). Someshwara to Hebri Good roads.

Hi,
I will be driving to Mangalore from Bangalore this weekend (2nd week of Jan 2016) with my family for a holiday, need some information and suggestions
1) Is the Shiradi Ghat road still open and will it remain open for the next 2 weeks
2) How are the road conditions if i go via Madikeri and is it a good choice
3) To reach Madikeri can i take the Bangalore-Mangalore highway and then take a left from Channarayapattana, is this better than going via Mysore and how are the road conditions

Any other suggestions are also most welcome

All the information and suggestions will be of great help as i will be traveling with kids and for the first time on this route, i will share my experience as soon as i can, thanks all in advance

Feedback:
NH4 undoubtedly is the best road of all with 6 lane roads and in excellent condition suited average speed of 120 KM/hr and took about 4 hours to reach Chitradurga with 1.5 hours till Neelamangala. NH13 was good but with small villages on the way, speed came down and since its been widened, took a little more time, small diversions but nothing to be worried for & overall quite good.
NH206 till Honnavar was also nicely laid with no potholes whatsoever, traffic was also mild to nil making the drive extremely comfortable. NH17 on the other hand had quite a lot of vehicles esp. trucks which slowed down the time. NH 17 is also getting 4 lane and a lot of work is going on which should complete in few years time.

Ghats section from Kollur, Nittur and ahead were fantastic. No potholes again and many places had cement roads. Traffic was next to nill and that made the drive quite quick. Shimoga to Arsikere was also good few patches had patch work but again nothing to complain or worry about except unscientific speed breakers without any markings/boards causing jump overs.
Took almost 7 hours of driving time on way back home from Shiroor to Yeshwantpur.

Realised that roads are way better than Bangalore city and zero worry for sedan drivers.

I will be driving to Mangalore from Bangalore this weekend (2nd week of Jan 2016) with my family for a holiday, need some information and suggestions

If you're headed to Mangalore and do not plan to visit/stop over at Madikeri, simply take Bangalore-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Shiradi ghat to reach Mangalore.
Shiradi closure date has not yet been announced. It will not happen without proper notice say 3-5 days in advance at least.
You can go via Mysore-Madikeri or Channarayapatna-Arkalgud-Shanivarasanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri to reach the Sullia-Mangalore road but it will not be worth it now when Shiradi is still open. Also, Madikeri-Somwarpet goes through curvy roads and may not be a great option with kids on board.

Ghats section from Kollur, Nittur and ahead were fantastic. No potholes again and many places had cement roads. Traffic was next to nill and that made the drive quite quick.

This section is amazing. Roads a are a bit narrow, but then since they dont form the part of an arterial road, its OK. The only bad section is actually further down from Nagar towards Kundapur (which you did not have take since you were coming via Nittur.) They were repairing the Hulikal ghat section last year. Dont know if that work got completed.

Here is a picture I posted last year of the Ayyanur-Ripponpete-Hosanagara section. (Cross linking the same image)

Least distance as per goolgle is via Belur -> Chikmagluru -> Sringeri -> Agumbe... But I don't think its less traffic. I used to always take Belur route (to goto my home town Kundapura), but now I always take Ampre's route.

Planning similar drive soon. Two qs:
1) Google maps is showing default route as take a right turn at Uppinangadi (SH 118) - Bajegoli - Belman - Udupi. Any suggestions on this option ?

2) If we go via the NH48 till Mangaluru, and then Surathkal - Udupi, do we get a nice beach view during the drive ? I would prefer the route for that, and using a NH, better food options etc.

Thanks!

The first route passes through the interior. It is a well paved two lane road, scenic throughout. It has lot of curves and local commercial vehicles are to be looked for as they drive rashly. Time taken is almost same as through Mangalore. This is my preferred route anyday.

The second option does not have beach views, but beaches are accessible with a bit of going off the highway. Super smooth roads at a cost of 45INR toll at NITK. Again local vehicles are a big headache on this road.

Food options on the first route is limited to small family run joints until Manipal. You get good local food. For the second route, Mangalore or Bitoo da dhabha just after Mulky is the option you can opt for.